Village Gamer

Voice actors take note! The finalists for the 2009 Voicey Awards, sponsored by Voices.com, have been revealed

Toronto – After much waiting and anticipation, finalists of the 3rd Annual Voicey Awards recognizing voice talent have been announced. Voice talents record various projects for organizations, companies, and institutions requiring voice over services including commercials for radio and television, promos, movie trailers, audio book narration, podcasts, videos, animation, videogames, telephone recordings and more. Theirs are the voices of the unseen narrator, heard but not seen.

The only awards show of its kind to exclusively honor voice-over professionals, the Voicey Awards features 9 categories of significance and prestige, including Best Male Voice, Best Female Voice, Best New Voice, Best Child Voice, Best Teen Voice, Best Voice Team, Best Foreign Voice, Best Personal Branding, and Lifetime Achievement. Similar to awards such as the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, honoring actors and filmmakers, the Voicey Awards recognize voice actors and voice talents for their contributions and efforts over the year in the voice over industry.

“The finalists for this year’s Voiceys, organized by category, and in no particular order are…”

Best Male Voice

* Dave DeAndrea
* Michael Richard Dobson
* James Herron
* Eric Gusky
* Bill Painter

Best Female Voice

* Wendy Brown
* Teri Clark Linden
* Amy Taylor
* Vanessa Hart
* Heather Halley

Best New Voice

* Michelle Ann Dunphy
* James Clamp
* Veronica March
* Janice Downes
* Matt Josdal

Best Foreign Voice

* Roald Woods
* Wuzhi Lu
* Julie-Ann Dean
* Janpa Serino
* Claire Dodin

Best Child Voice

* Grace Taylor
* Travis Mustang

Best Teen Voice

* Sophie Neveu

Best Voice Team

* Robert Jadah and Diane Havens
* Ken Theriot and Lisa Theriot

Best Personal Branding

* Nickie Jurado
* Julie Williams
* Doug Turkel
* Vicki Amorose
* James Clamp

Lifetime Achievement

* Don Morrow
* Richard Horvitz
* Bill Kates
* Rita Pardue
* Arroe Collins

Participating judges this year and their respective categories include, the first woman to announce the Academy Awards, the voice of Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, and co-author of “Voice For Hire”, Randy Thomas (judging Best Male Voice); NYC casting director and author of “Acting: Make It Your Business” Paul Russell (judging Best Female Voice); super agent Billy Serow from Abrams Artists Agency in New York (judging Best New Voice); singing voice of Snow White and female movie trailer voice over pioneer, Melissa Disney (judging Best Voice Team); the original voice of Dora the Explorer , Kathleen Herles (judging Best Child Voice); British voiceover coach and talent Gary Terzza (judging Best Foreign Voice); President of Twist Image and author of the Six Pixels of Separation blog and podcast host, Mitch Joel (Best Personal Branding); and voice actress and industry blogger Bobbin Beam (judging Lifetime Achievement).